Lyme Disease Bacterium Collaborates with Accomplices to Evade Immune System
submitted by Merry Buckley on September 29, 2010
Warning: the bacterium behind Lyme disease is collaborating with its accomplices to construct a gene that can defeat your immune defenses.
That's what researchers investigating the evolution of a crucial gene in Borrelia burgdorferi found when they compared bacteria found in ticks gathered across the country. The study was recently published on the mBio website.
The gene, ospC, encodes one of the few antigens against which mammals can develop protective immunity.
A close look at the sequences of the gene and surrounding sequences revealed that lateral gene transfer has played a major role in shaping the gene and that by acquiring a complete or large part of a novel ospC gene, a B. burgdorferi strain could assume a new identity, enabling it to elude the immune defenses of its human host.
Posts: 217 | From Earth | Registered: Feb 2010
| IP: Logged |
sutherngrl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16270
posted
I definetly think it evades the immune system because my immune system was top notch when I developed LD. I was very healthy before getting LD.
Posts: 4035 | From Mississippi | Registered: Jul 2008
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic